After falling asleep on the sofa, when Wei Xicheng woke up again, it was already nighttime. He picked up the letter placed near his face—it was from Queen Delores.
Ever since he had asked the queen to keep an eye on Mavis’s movements, she had always sent him the latest updates whenever something happened. It was evident that Delores’s intelligence network was quite robust.
Mavis and her partner, Hilton Apartments, Room 302, Theresa City.
Wei Xicheng tossed the letter into the wastebasket, pulled off the blanket covering him, and stood up. Sleeping on the sofa all day had left his neck feeling stiff.
The hunter’s scent was no longer in the air. Clearly, Sean had been gone for a long time. At this hour, he was probably sweating it out at the training grounds.
Fastening the ties of his cloak, Wei Xicheng leapt out of the window and sped toward Theresa City.
What he didn’t know was that a figure, carrying a heavy sword and various weapons, had been following him from a considerable distance, trailing his every move like a shadow.
Theresa City was very close to Saro City, making it economically prosperous as well. It also had a thriving tourism industry. Despite the proximity of the two cities, many nobles liked to spend their leisure time strolling along Theresa City’s beautiful moat.
According to bards and painters, Theresa’s charm lay in its ability to feel fresh every day.
Even in the deep of night, Theresa’s streetlights remained lit, every shop had someone on duty, and the streets were bustling with people. This was a city that never slept.
The Hilton Apartments were the most famous luxury vacation homes on Theresa’s central avenue. In truth, they were a cluster of small villas. The exquisite and lavish decor, coupled with impeccable service, attracted nobles and the wealthy, who were willing to spend a fortune for such an experience.
Wei Xicheng landed on the second-floor balcony of Room 302.
Thick curtains on the windows blocked any view of the interior. Wei Xicheng pushed the door, only to find it locked from the inside. With a slight application of force on the doorknob, the lock broke.
The door opened a crack, and the cool breeze stirred the curtains. A woman’s voice could be heard, though the man inside had already grown wary.
Mavis’s partner, Jerome, had a full beard and a body packed with muscle, all signs of a man brimming with strength.
“Darling, what’s wrong?” Mavis’s voice was soft and sultry, tinged with dissatisfied longing.
Jerome had no time to entertain the seductive woman lying on the bed. He quickly pulled on a pair of shorts and grabbed his silver handgun from the bedside. It held ten silver bullets. He had already caught the stench of a vampire.
And likely a powerful one.
“Come out, buddy!” Jerome locked his eyes on the source of the wind, the direction of the scent, confident he was right.
“A half-blood hunter with a nose this sharp?” Wei Xicheng lifted the curtains and walked in slowly, placing a hand on his chest as he greeted the naked woman on the bed. “Good evening, my dear Mavis. My apologies for interrupting your fun, but you know I’ve always preferred visiting old friends at night.”
“Samuel!” Mavis screamed, pulling a blanket over herself. “You still remember me?!”
“Who could forget such a beautiful lady?” Wei Xicheng straightened up, fully engrossed in his impromptu theatrics, forgetting entirely that Samuel was supposed to be a cold and prideful vampire.
“Hah, you’re quite the romantic.” Jerome sneered. “A pureblood? Don’t overestimate yourself. I doubt you’ll leave here unscathed.”
“Then why haven’t you fired yet, sir?” Wei Xicheng adjusted the ties on his cloak at a leisurely pace. Though he was lost in his out-of-character performance, he hadn’t forgotten the original plot.
Jerome and Mavis had managed to kill Samuel in the original story because Samuel had been in a weakened state after awakening from a long slumber. Before he could recover his strength, they ambushed him. Mavis, that despicable sneak, had nailed his heart with a wooden stake.
But now? A half-blood hunter was unlikely to pose any real threat to him.
Wei Xicheng felt that villains often liked to talk too much for a reason—when they believed they had control over the situation, who wouldn’t want to show off a bit? But now, it was time to end the show.
Wei Xicheng sneered at the hunter aiming at him. With a slight humph of disdain, he leapt directly toward Jerome. At the same moment, Jerome pulled the trigger.
A silver streak hurtled toward a dark figure at lightning speed.
But trying to kill a pureblood duke with just ten silver bullets? That was nothing short of delusional.
In this world, Samuel’s original form was already near the top of the food chain. With the system’s adjustments to his body data after Wei Xicheng’s arrival, the speed of the bullets seemed sluggish to him.
A slight tilt of his body was enough to dodge the gleaming silver streak.
“Mavis!” Jerome fired three more shots, rolling toward the table beside the bed. “Grab the holy water and garlic!”
Jerome thought his luck couldn’t get any worse today. He had only intended to enjoy some intimacy with Mavis, but this little vixen had apparently attracted a pureblood without his knowledge!
Wei Xicheng paid no attention to Mavis, who was scrambling to fetch the holy water. Even after signing a contract with a demon, she was still just a powerless woman. Once Jerome was dealt with, no matter how concentrated the holy water was, Mavis’s strength and aim wouldn’t pose any threat to him.
The advantages of his bloodline became evident here. If it had been Sean in this situation, even with only ten silver bullets, he would still have the leeway to retreat a certain distance and come up with a plan, even if he would ultimately lose.
Now, compared to Wei Xicheng’s speed, Jerome was like a child racing against an adult.
In just a moment, Wei Xicheng was in front of Jerome. With a single kick, the gun flew out of Jerome’s hand.
“Don’t kill me!” Jerome yelled, panic gripping him. He had never fought a pureblood before, and now that he was up against such a formidable opponent, fear consumed him. “I’ll give you anything you want!”
Mavis, stunned by the instant reversal of the battle, froze in place. Her face was full of disbelief. “Jerome! You said you were the best hunter!”
Wei Xicheng’s boot pressed down on Jerome’s chest as he turned his head to smile at Mavis. Beneath him, Jerome coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Mavis forced a stiff smile as her hand touched a bottle in her bag. Gripping it tightly, she tried to steady herself. “You’ll let me go, right? Duke Samuel?”
“Mavis, relax.”
One of this world’s Chosen Ones was already dead, and Wei Xicheng wasn’t sure if killing both of them would cause the rules of the world to collapse. He hadn’t yet decided whether to make a move.
As for taking lives, Wei Xicheng felt nothing. His hands were already stained from previous missions. Besides, he despised those who abused their status as Chosen Ones to act with impunity.
Wei Xicheng had always believed in repaying others in kind. His methods for dealing with the Chosen Ones varied depending on their actions.
Of course, everything ultimately depended on his mood. If he felt like it, he might avenge the original owner of this body. If not, he’d simply treat this as a vacation world and mess with the Chosen Ones to gather some energy.
Wei Xicheng glanced at the system’s energy levels. The energy he’d almost exhausted earlier had partially replenished with Jerome’s death, but it was still far from enough. His gaze shifted to the two auxiliary energy slots, and a sense of unease grew. If the system’s energy dipped too low, would it tap into those reserves?
If those energy reserves were lost because of him, he would never forgive himself.
While his thoughts wandered, Mavis uncorked the bottle of holy water and hurled it at him with all her might.
Wei Xicheng hadn’t paid the woman any mind. With a swift turn and a flick of his cloak, not a drop landed on him.
For now, he decided to spare this woman. If he couldn’t locate his lover, then maybe…
“Elvis!” A shrill cry pierced the night.
Wei Xicheng widened his eyes as he looked at Mavis, now collapsed on the ground, and then at the figure standing on the balcony.
“Sean?”
“Yes.”
Yes, what? Aren’t you going to explain why you’re here?!
Before Wei Xicheng could say another word, Sean continued, “She was trying to harm you.”
At this, Wei Xicheng felt a pang of frustration. Opening the system’s energy panel, he confirmed his suspicion—no energy had been added.
Ha! Who told you to meddle in my business? Luckily, the world hasn’t collapsed yet. If it had, you’d be the one dead! Cold-blooded fool!
“Why are you here?” Wei Xicheng, in a foul mood, asked coldly, “Were you following me?”
“No!” Sean avoided his gaze. “We should leave quickly. It seems she just invoked her demon’s name.”
“Kehehe, little hunter, it’s already too late.”
A swirl of black smoke rose on the balcony, and from it stepped a man with an uncanny appearance. “Ah, my dear little Mavis.”
“Elvis.”
“Ah! Good day, my esteemed Duke.” Elvis blew a kiss toward Wei Xicheng. “Since you seem to want my little pet, Mavis, I’ll reluctantly part with her. But could you give me this little hunter in exchange?”
“Impossible.”
“What a pity.” Elvis swayed his hips, clearly unbothered. He had no intention of falling out with a vampire duke over a mere human plaything. He circled around to Sean. “What do you say, little one? Want to come with me and have some fun?”
“Get lost.” Sean’s expression was stormy. Looking at the vampire enjoying the show, his anger flared. Flirting with other women was one thing, but chasing them down to kill their filthy lover?
And now! Now he was letting this disgusting demon taunt him!
“Ooh, such a temper! But I like it even more now.” Elvis reached out, testing the waters as he tried to touch Sean’s face.
Sean coldly glared at Wei Xicheng. When the demon’s hand was just a centimeter away, he finally dodged.
“Such a boring block of wood.” Elvis muttered, his tone filled with annoyance. As a demon, he was most attuned to love and desire. With a single remark, he exposed Sean’s thoughts.
“Too bad your Duke will never love you.”
